When I posted my recipe for "The Best Lasagna Ever" yesterday, I couldn’t have anticipated that I’d wind up hearing from Draco, a real-live Italian who lives near Bologna, Italy, where lasagna was first created. Nor could I have ever predicted I’d hear from MP, who lives in an Italian neighborhood and buys Parmiganno-Regianno by the bag, dang it. I might just go ahead at this point and clarify that yes, my lasagna is, in fact, "The Best Ever"…unless you live near Bologna, Italy or in an Italian neighborhood or anywhere near Mario Batali. Okay? Are you happy now, Draco? Party pooper.

Now…this cake? This cake is another story. It is absolutely, without a doubt, The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. It’s moist beyond imagination, chocolatey and rich like no tomorrow, and 100% of the time, causes moans and groans from anyone who takes a bite.

The Cast of Characters. Very basic ingredients—perfect for us Pioneer Women who live out in the country and nowhere near dutch processed cocoa, Madagascar vanilla extract, or creme fraiche. All you need for this wonderful cake is sugar, flour, salt, butter, cocoa, baking soda, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, powdered sugar, milk, and pecans. Are you ready? Let’s go dance with the devil!

In a measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.PIONEER WOMAN BACK-UP PLAN: Living way out in the country, I often find myself missing key ingredients for many recipes and have had to learn to improvise. I usually don’t have buttermilk in the fridge when I want to make this cake, so here’s what I do: pour just under 1/2 cup regular milk into the measuring cup, then add enough regular vinegar to the milk to bring the quantity up to 1/2 cup. Within seconds, it turns into buttermilk and works perfectly. Try it sometime!

To the buttermilk, add 2 beaten eggs…

1 teaspoon vanilla…

And 1 teaspoon baking soda. Stir together.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the chocolate/flour mixture.

Stir together well.

I use this commercial baking sheet, but any jelly roll pan will do.

Pour the luscious batter into the ungreased pan…

And spread it evenly.

Bake the cake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes. While the cake is baking, it’s time to make the evil, decadent frosting.

Chop 1/2 cup pecans…

Into pretty small pieces. Keep on choppin’—the smaller and crunchier, the better.

In a saucepan (I always wash and use the same one as before), melt 1 3/4 sticks of regular butter (not to be confused with 1 1/2 sticks or 2 sticks, for pete’s sake.)

Once the butter is melted, add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder.

Stir together, and allow to bubble for 30 seconds. Turn off heat.

Then add 6 tablespoons milk…

And 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir together.

Then add 1 lb. powdered sugar. Actually, I like to add about 1/2 cup less than 1 lb., but I was too embarrassed to admit that I wouldn’t be able to tell you what quantity that is. So add a pound, but hold a little back, and please don’t ask me how much that is, because I hate math.

Stir together…

Then add the chopped pecans…

And stir together again. PIONEER WOMAN MEDICAL ALERT: If you’re like my sister Betsy and your throat closes up and your head swells to three times its size if you ingest even a tiny speck of a tree nut, you can certainly leave out the pecans. Just be sure to stir the icing well enough to get rid of the tiny clumps of powdered sugar, because you won’t have the nuts to break them up. (Huh huh. I just said "nuts".) And yes, you can sift the powdered sugar beforehand, but I usually can’t ever be bothered with such nonsense.

Now pour the evil, adulterous, wicked frosting over the warm, ridiculous cake.

Try to pour it all over the surface, so you won’t have to do much spreading.

The warmth of the cake should do most of the work for you, causing the stupidly delicious frosting to spread on its own. You’ll have to help it along a little, but the less you have to spread, the better.

Sigh. Before you sink your teeth into this beautiful creation, take a moment. Pause and reflect upon how fortunate we are to be human. To be able to control the various ingredients in our kitchens. To be able to harness the energy necessary to heat an oven. To melt butter. To chop nuts. To eat…to eat…chocolate.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

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386 Comments

1

dana On Sunday, June 3 at 8:28 am

Just discovered your blog a few days ago and I just LOVE it. Such a bright day beginner for me (and many, many more). I have been using a recipe very similiar to this one for about 30 years and it is always a sure fire hit. Unfortunately, my kids (they are now old kids, but still my kids) don’t appreciate it if I put the nuts on it, but the nuts really make it! Love the recipe blog—you are great. Keep it up. dana, a KC, MO fan

Anonymous On Sunday, June 3 at 9:36 am

Rachelle H On Sunday, June 3 at 10:20 am

Okay, this is how bad it gets. I was leaving for Bakersfield on a business trip yesterday (not exactly the garden spot of California) and before I went, my husband made me make the chicken spaghetti – I finish that and get in the car to leave and he runs after me saying, “hey, what about the chocolate cake.” It took me an extra hour and a half to get out of the house while I made this darned cake. It’ll be gone by the time I get home,guaranteed.

Ooooh, I JUST MADE this last weekend for a family reunion! I’ve always called it Texas Sheet Cake, because it makes a cake the size of Texas! I sprinkled half the cake with chopped walnuts and left the other half plain, and I did get moans and groans and people scraping my good jelly roll pan with forks getting up every last crumb. It’s THAT Good!

8

Debra On Tuesday, June 5 at 10:33 am

My name for this cake has always been “Church Lady Cake” because it showed up at every pot-luck and funeral. I love it!!

9

Anonymous On Tuesday, June 5 at 12:25 pm

My mother has been making this cake for a long time. We call it “Texas Sheet Cake”. We have it with out the nuts though. At is the best…BEST cake I have ever tasted!!! I love it!!

10

RanchDi On Tuesday, June 5 at 3:45 pm

Looks fantastic – and everything’s on hand, so it’ll be a go for today, I think – BUT – what’s the size of the sheet pan you use? Please? I have commercial sheet pans at home, but they’re in 2 sizes, and neither of them looks quite like the one here ……

11

Stella Rogers On Tuesday, June 5 at 6:29 pm

I have been making this cake since 1966, the year I got married. It is the only cake I make from scratch. I only use 1 stick butter in the icing, and use 1 cup pecans. I never buy buttermilk so I always use the vinegar. This cake recipe was given to me by my Aunt Stella right after I got married and I love it. Since there is no need for an electric mixer it was easy for a newly wed. We call it Cookie Sheet Cake I use a large cookie sheet 1 inch deep about 11” x 15” hope this helps with the size pan to use. Thanks Stella,
Corpus Christi, TX

12

erika On Tuesday, June 5 at 8:15 pm

I am going to make this tomorrow… yum! I am so excited. I have been making your recipes and taking them into work. I am the most popular person there after the lasagna, and now this? I’ll get employee of the month.

13

Kate On Wednesday, June 6 at 3:40 am

Damn that looks amazing. I may have to make this cake right now. Never mind that it’s almost 2 am. Oh, and if my quick mental math is correct, you’re adding about 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar to the icing.

14

Pioneer Woman On Wednesday, June 6 at 11:04 am

RanchDi, I use a commercial baking sheet, which is about 17 x 12. But it will work in a storebought “jelly roll pan.” It also works great for cupcakes.

Kate, I think that’s probably right…maybe closer to two cups. You want it to be dark brown and runny.

My family has also been making this cake since the 60′s and we call it Texas Sheet Cake. I make it with sour cream and no nuts. Everyone is just crazy for this cake. It tastes just as good straight out of the freezer. Yum, I want some right now!

16

RanchDi On Thursday, June 7 at 3:10 pm

Oh my, oh my – how can I have baked for so many years without this recipe? – the sheet pan I have was exactly the right size (thanks, Ree, for the measurements), and the resident taster here had to have several pieces just to see if it was really as good as he thought at first – he doesn’t usually care for cake, but he’s changed his mind for this one! LOL Definitely a keeper – both the cake and the taster We’re in the northern plains, not Texas, so maybe I can just call it a Prairie Sheet Cake? ……. On second thought, just “The Best Chocolate Cake Ever” pretty much says it all.

17

Winona On Thursday, June 7 at 9:29 pm

My husband found your Chocolate Sheet Cake receipt on stumble on and sent it to me..Today I got around to making it.. It is just awesome.. probably the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten..I had company for supper tonight and there were whoos and awwws on how delecious the cake was.. so thank you for sharing such a wonderful receipt.. I really do appreciate it.
Winona in North Louisiana, USA

My mother (rest her soul) made a VERY similar cake for years and years. She always reminded me that you MUST use real butter and never margarine…and everyone I’ve ever made it for has fallen in love with it.

Decadence beyond belief!

19

Anonymous On Monday, June 11 at 4:48 pm

Really enjoy reading your recipes. Having been shocked by some US recipes (lots of packaged or pre-made ingredients) …had my faith restored in your good country cooking (apart from Rotel, as you also note) by your ingredients.

Keep up the good work. I think if families make your recipes, they will be rewarded by good tasting home cooking.

Note to others: You can NOT MESS UP this cake! Believe me, my daughter and I tried!

She always makes buttermilk using lemon juice, not vinegar (what does she know? She’s 14, for Pete’s sake) so we went with lemon juice. I accidentally added the baking soda before she threw in the eggs and the whole things started fizzing! So, we went ahead and made it anyway . . . DELISH!

Also, my frosting kept separating until we added the powdered sugar, but again we MADE IT ANYWAY . . .. I’m actually inviting people over tonight JUST so I can give them some of this cake!

I love your recipies, but they come out a little saltier than we’re used to (lasagne and chicken spaghetti did). I’ll remember that for future ones.

21

Kate C. On Monday, June 18 at 9:43 am

My girls and I were barely able to get the batter in the pan…it is so yummy! I don’t have a jelly roll pan, so I am using a bundt pan…hope it works! We made your Chicken Spaghetti a few days ago…it’s becoming part of our weekly menu! You are awesome!

Oh my…this is my favorite cake. The only thing I do differently is add a pinch of cinnamon to the cake batter. mmmm. Found your blog today. Its awesome!

23

Sherry On Tuesday, June 19 at 11:21 am

Ree, Do you use plain or self-rising flour

24

Melissa On Sunday, June 24 at 1:12 pm

Oh my word. This is so good. I couldn’t believe how EASY this was. This morning, my husband asked (in a disgusted tone, or so I thought), “what’s in that frosting?” Me: “Pecans.” Him: “No, I mean, what’s it made of? It just melts in your mouth and is so good!”

My 16 year old nephew deemed it the best chocolate cake he’s ever eaten, so I think it was a success. Now I just have to keep myself from eating the whole thing.

We just made this. I wanted to take a picture but the girls had to eat it before I even turned the camera on! Yummmmmy!

27

gina On Wednesday, June 27 at 4:00 pm

sooo good!!!

28

Sydney On Thursday, July 5 at 1:39 pm

I absolutely love this! I saw your site yesterday but stupid-ass me couldn’t figure out how to leave you a comment. Hehe. Your pictures are better than any cooking show I have ever witnessed! And I made the 4th of July cake yesterday, everybody went NUTS for it! And my very own Marlboro man loves that sandwich as well!! You are absolutely fabulous, and I look forward to going through all of your recipes!!!

And your photographs are amazing as well.. Love them.

29

Betsy On Thursday, July 5 at 3:00 pm

Oh, my. It doesn’t matter where I go, or what I do. This Satan Cake calls my name.

I made it for our Fourth celebration. We gobbled it with glee.

But even my gluttonous family and I could not devour the entire cake.

And so it calls my name. It started as I was drinking my coffee this morning.

It continued when I returned from the gym. (“C’mon Bets–it’s been months since you’ve caved. Those leg presses? PERMISSION!”)

So. Darn. Good.

30

Mark In Brisbane Australia On Thursday, July 12 at 1:53 pm

Hi there, the cake sounds gorgeous, but I come from the antipodean continent called Australia and butter is sold in 250 gram or 500 gram blocks. Vould you please tell me how much a STICK of butter weighs?…… unlike you…I AM good at maths so if you only know ounces (oz) i can convert it.

I am looking forward to trying this one.

kind regards

Mark

31

Melissa On Thursday, July 12 at 3:01 pm

Mark, a stick of butter is 8 oz.

32

Betsy On Friday, July 13 at 10:06 am

A pound of butter is four sticks, so a stick is four ounces

33

Gillian McNeill Thompson On Monday, July 16 at 8:22 pm

This looks sooo good!Making it tomorrow!

34

charlie On Tuesday, July 17 at 1:11 am

You shouldn’t have to add salt later in the recipe if you’re using salted butter. Maybe that’s why one person said the recipes are too salty.

Thanks for the great recipe!

35

Tina On Tuesday, July 17 at 8:16 am

OMG – my kids ate half of this the first day.I had to issue threats to get them to stop eating it.

36

Sharla On Tuesday, July 17 at 2:50 pm

I love this recipe I make cakes for church functions, and birthdays And Just thought I would let you know that there is 2cups to a pound of powder sugar so if you subtract a half cup you only put in 1 and a half cups of powder sugar. just thought I would share.

37

gretchen On Tuesday, July 17 at 4:07 pm

Hey, just an idea/tip-I noticed your thing with the milk/vinegar, and I use Saco’s “Powdered Buttermilk Blend”. It’s a powdered buttermilk that goes in the fridge, you reconstitute it, it keeps forever. Cheers!

38

Tracy On Tuesday, July 17 at 5:55 pm

I made this for a friend’s housewarming and became known as “That girl who made that FREAKING AWESOME CAKE!!!”

Thanks, Pioneer Woman

39

Anonymous On Thursday, July 19 at 9:47 pm

I found your blog through Stumble & I’m so glad I did! I made the chocolate cake tonight & my family loved it! We made the bacon wrapped cream cheese jalapenos this week also. Yummy! I bought the ingredients for the 4th of July cake too.
Thank you for the recipes & I’m really enjoying the pictures too.
Rhoda

40

Veena On Friday, July 20 at 2:46 am

ooooooooooooooh i’m so excited, he’s back from work on sunday and guess whats going to be for dessert-this looks too too good please put up more recepies-every single one of yours looks to die for

41

Darlene On Saturday, July 21 at 4:19 pm

Ok, so we cut this cake up into slices, wrap it individually and FREEZE it. Then we have to unwrap it and we’ll only eat 3/4 as many slices – since it will take us, oh… at least 4 seconds to unwrap it and lick the frosting off the plastic wrap. Those 4 seconds will allow the cake to thaw sufficiently to eat it. lol

I make this same cake. My aunt clipped the recipe from a newspaper over 30 years ago. We call it Charlotte Armstrong cake (I’m sure it was the person who submitted the recipe to the paper). My friends go gaga over this sinful concoction. I have to limit making it to a handful of times per year, though when I’m desperate, I make a half cake. Made it once with really good cocoa from Williams Sonoma and OMG. It’s worth springing for the good cocoa.

43

beckyhansing On Saturday, July 21 at 7:09 pm

This is the most amazing recipe/blog/diary type thing going. It has become my favorite place to go for yummy, easy, comforting recipes and just plain fun. Thank you so much for sharing so much of youself.

44

Adrian On Wednesday, July 25 at 5:31 am

I am going to make this with my 3 year old son on Saturday. Is the Hersheys cocoa what we would call hot chocolate in the UK?

45

Lynn On Thursday, July 26 at 12:56 pm

I think its more of a baking cocoa which is unsweetened rather than a hot chocolate mix that you would just add water or milk to.

46

featheriefou On Thursday, July 26 at 1:15 pm

oh my land! this is so dangerously delicious… I both love and loathe this site. It’s too good. This cake is divine. Thank you so much (although between 6 am and 11 pm I had four slices) however my inability to moderate your amazing creations. Thank you!!

47

Judy On Saturday, July 28 at 9:09 pm

How fascinating! I just sent MY recipe to my daughter for her recipe file. In Tennessee we call this Coca Cola Cake. In the cake batter substitute 1 cup Coca Cola (straight from the can/bottle) for the water. Also, add 1 1/2 c mini marshmallows to the wet ingredients before you add it to the dry (they will float to the top but that’s normal, don’t worry!). In the frosting substitute 6 Tbl. Coca Cola for the milk. I increase the pecans to 1 cup but that’s just ‘caus I’m from Georgia. We bake ours in a 9×13 pan at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Everything else is the same and it is guaranteed to drive people crazy with delight. When this first began to show up at church suppers (in the 1970′s) we would try to make people guess the “secret” ingredient. Now everybody knows!

Your photography. Stunning. As a cookbook addict, I’m in heaven with this site.

love it. love it. loveeeeeeeeee it.

49

Tina On Monday, July 30 at 10:39 pm

Just stumbled upon your site. OMG!!! Your choco sheet cake made my mouth water. Can’t wait to try it with the kids this weekend.

Thanks for sharing! : )

50

Lauri in NC On Tuesday, July 31 at 10:43 am

What size is a sheet cake pan?
Lauri in NC who cannot wait to try this cake!!!

51

JDR On Tuesday, July 31 at 12:53 pm

I made this to take to a function at church yesterday afternoon. There was just a little leftover, but not to worry I ate it all. Now I can’t go to WeightWatchers today.:-) Wonderful, yummy cake. Thanks for sharing Ree.

Praise Betty Crocker! I just found your site the other day and I sit and look at the pictures with my mouth watering… drool almost shorted out my laptop earlier. It is dangerous!
Anyway, I have made this cake before and call it TexAss Sheetcake because it makes my ass the size of Texas.
It should be noted that this cake is best served for breakfast… that way you can eat it and have enough time to make another one before your husband gets home.

Wow…what an amazing blog!! I only WISH I could cook like you. I am too lazy and when I’m not being lazy, I’m just bad at cooking!! This cakes looks SO good. If only you could make this with less ingredients.

Thanks so much for sharing your creations!!

54

JDR On Thursday, August 2 at 6:15 pm

Yes, I have already left a comment about this cake. I made it Monday and now I’m making it again. A man that my DH works with just found out his wife has cancer. They are very nice people and chocolate lovers, so I thought I would make this cake for them. It won’t do anything for the cancer, but it will give them a big chocolatey hug from me. Thanks again for this recipe. It’s fast, easy and best of all yummy. It’s my new go to in a pinch cake.

55

Mary Jean On Saturday, August 4 at 2:40 pm

This recipe is fantastic!!! So simple, yet sooooo delish. Just to let you know… the powdered sugar comes out to 3 and 1/2 cups. I hate math too.

Thanks for all the great pictures, and the wonderful recipes. The best lasagna ever is on the list for tomorrow night.

I live in a rural area too- and I totally understand what’s it like to try to cook and experiment with limited ingredients. Thanks for the encouragement.

I too grew up calling this Texas Sheet Cake. It is to die for! Some members of my family do not like nuts, so I always put icing w/o nuts on half of the cake and then the icing with nuts on the remaining half.

Just found your website and I love it.

57

Taney On Tuesday, August 7 at 2:03 pm

Glad I have found your blog, and I have enjoyed reading it. This cake I will make for a family reunion on the 18th. Many Thanks,
Taney

I am glad I found this website! The cake was a BIG hit and there wasnt a crumb left!!!

59

Kelly in Wisc. On Wednesday, August 8 at 4:17 am

This is my Grandma Monty’s brownie recipe. She’s since passed but I must agree, her brownies, aka Texas Sheet Cake are absolutely scrumptious! I stumbled upon this site while searching for a hand pie recipe. I’m going to take a few minutes and look around, I like what I see!

I’m awake at 3 am with a hankerin to bake.

60

Sherry On Wednesday, August 8 at 1:23 pm

This amazing single layer cake becomes even more amazing when made in 2 round pans! I love to make this cake as a layer cake and use a rich chocolate buttercream frosting inside and on outsides and then put a chocolate ganache on top…….really decadent and sexy!

61

Amy On Thursday, August 9 at 12:09 am

I found this recipe a week before a family reunion in upstate New York. I printed it out and brought it with me and made it the first night there. No one could believe how delicious it was and I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make! Thanks Pioneer Woman!

62

Valerie On Thursday, August 9 at 4:07 pm

I have a recipe for this, very similar, called Texas Sheet Cake, but uses sour cream instead of buttermilk! Yummy!

63

Weffie On Friday, August 10 at 3:12 pm

Just discovered your blog via Slashfood! I’ve been making this cake to rave reviews for over 40 years since I lived in West Texas. There they called it “Sheath Cake.” Sometimes I crave it so much I make one, eat two pieces, and take the rest to work, where I sneakily eat another piece!

My great-grandmother used to bake this cake, and it has always been my favorite! We’re in Texas, and as another poster commented, it’s the ubiquitous church picnic cake. Doesn’t stop me for asking for it for every birthday. Hey, maybe that’s why I can’t drop these last 10 post-baby pounds.

My mother made this on Friday. FABULOUS. Thanks for the extra five pounds.

66

Maureen On Sunday, August 12 at 4:43 pm

I just made this, and it is a big hit! I think my pan is a bit too big, the cake is very thin, but still delicious. Very similar to a cake I used to make about 30 yrs ago, but lost the recipe to. Thanks so much!

I made this last night…EVIL EVIL..my hand involuntarily took the fork and shoveled it into my mouth…I think i felt my thighs touching this morning ugh…I sent the rest to work with my husband. He is a Texas Marine and works with alot of other Good ol’ boys on base who love my “taste of home” (many of which have been your recipes..they LOVE your chicken spaghetti)..needless to say they got wind of the cake and were on him like a pack of hornets..I told him don’t forget my pan…he said they ate that too :0/

68

Debbie F. On Sunday, August 19 at 4:52 pm

I have a recipe that I found on a cooking website a couple of years ago but it calls for Sour cream instead of buttermilk. I get requests for it from church friends. Everyone LOVES it. THe frosting is so rich and yummy.

Ree, my daughter and I just made blackberry cobbler, but we had to use peaches instead of berries. It is cooking RIGHT NOW. We will make the cake later this week. We also use cinnamon in the icing- it adds a deeper dimension of greed.
We are thoroughly enjoying your site.
I have a kid herd of 5 and a dog herd of 3.
You have your “spawn” and several herds of things. What time do YOU have to get up??

70

Auntie Julia On Thursday, August 23 at 8:33 pm

Oh dear, I just finished making the cake for my husband, he says chocolate is in all the food groups, and I had started on the frosting when I reached for the p.sugar.None.What to do?! Quickly made a batch of fudge with the pot, oops, fudge, started another, following your recipe except using granulated. Worked great, just make sure you cook it until the sugar disolves and it is almost soft ball. I am now a Goddess, not bad for 38 + years of marriage! I am making the casserole and cobbler, shrimp and poppers for guests tomorrow. My cape, tiara are waiting…..

71

Melissa On Friday, August 24 at 2:03 pm

I made this cake yesterday for my husband’s birthday get together at his work. I have never been a big fan of sheet cakes, maybe because my mom made them alot when I was a child and she didn’t do a very good job! This cake was good, but HUGE. I couldn’t imagine making it for just my family. Also, I checked the cake at 18 min. at 350 and the toothpick came out perfectly clean. So it was probably done at 17 min. If I make it again, I will start checking around 15-16 min. I think the cake would be even more moist with less time in the oven.

72

Debi G On Friday, August 24 at 3:48 pm

My 21 year old college student son recommended your website for the recipes and the humor. All the girls at the bank that I work for LOVE your recipes and website. We’re all on a diet now. We weigh together weekly and pay $1.00. On the day before Thanksgiving we’re going to weigh for the last time after 13 weeks and everyone who reaches their goal will split the money. But the best part is each one of us is going to make one of your recipes and bring to work that day and we’re going to have a Pioneer Woman Cooks Feast! Thanks for the great recipes. Why aren’t all of your recipes in the printable section of the site?

73

K On Wednesday, August 29 at 9:40 am

I have made this cake for 30 years. We add a 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp of cinnamon. It is an awesome cake, one that is absolutely eaten with gusto and love!!!

74

Suzanne On Saturday, September 1 at 8:06 pm

Stumbled on your site (love it) and found this recipe. My grandmother made a cake like this when I was a little girl. The pictures brought back great memories. I made it tonight and took it to a cookout. Everyone loved it. I did manage to make it home with a piece for later. Thanks for sharing.

I can’t seem to make the frosting right — it’s utter liquid and when I pour it over the cake some of it runs over the side.

It TASTES good, but something is amiss in the boil/cool or something.

Ideas?

76

Piper On Monday, September 3 at 1:22 pm

I was given this recipe 30 years ago by a lovely neighbor who was originally from the Deep South. Georgia, I think. She called it Texas Sheet Cake…now, we just call it ….Jo’s Cake. Her recipe called for 1 tsp. of cinnamon and 1 tsp of instant coffee to be added to both the cake and the icing. It seems to intensify the “Chocolateness”. I swear…it just doesn’t get better than this.! We bake it in a 9 x 13 PYREX and adjust the cooking time accordingly. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love it.

Hey Ree,
This cake was super awesome. I am being a horrible wife. My husband has always loved his MOTHER’s sheet cake. So I found this and I know it will be wayyyy better. Thanks. Oh, we are almost like your punk sister and hate nuts so so this is a girl cake for us. Thanks a ton!! Keep up the awesome work.

Rae

78

Kellie Waddle On Tuesday, September 4 at 10:37 pm

Hey Ree….you are so funny, my favorite part about this entire recipe was the part about your punk-ass sister. Thank goodness God didn’t make me allergic to any nuts or I would probably shoot myself.I have an awesome chocolate sheet cake recipe, but it calls for 2 cups of cold coffee,(not instant) and it is yumo! But I am excited to try yours, it looks amazing! Your web site is full of really good stuff, I went to school with Marlboro Man, and it is really fun to see all the kids pictures, my mom was the one who told me about your site and I’ve been up late, super late both nights, keep up the fantastic work! Kellie

79

Lisa On Thursday, September 6 at 11:38 am

I made this for a co-worker’s birthday. It was a huge hit. I left out the nuts but added a 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the icing. It was really good and made a nice thick fudge icing when it set up. I think next time I will put half the bag of chocolate chips in the icing and half in the cake. yum! Can’t have too much chocolate!!

80

Julie S. On Thursday, September 6 at 3:44 pm

Oh my. Words fail me. I left the nuts out cause I like my chocolate unadulterated. The frosting has this curious little toasty flavor that puzzles me…but it’s a good thing. It’s only a shame I can’t eat the whole thing while it’s warm. Or…can I?

81

MJ On Tuesday, September 11 at 7:25 am

Mark,
a pound of butter (16 oz) is 4 sticks – each stick is 4 oz or 8 tablespoons

82

JAG On Saturday, September 22 at 6:14 pm

Hey Ree I made this sinfully delicious cake last night. I dont think Ill ever be able to eat a “cake mix” cake again now! Wow. This cake was amazing. I am making your lasagna tomorrow so Ill be back to report on that. I love your site and love the pictures and your narratives. You rock the culinary world!

83

Costas C. On Sunday, September 23 at 11:55 pm

I just happened to stumble upon your site the other day and I must admit I was tempted to try the chocolate Sheet cake by just looking at the pictures.

The only thing I can say is thank you!
F a n t a s t i c !!!

Costas C.
Greece

84

Marina On Wednesday, September 26 at 11:52 pm

AWESOME! My boys loved it!
BUT it is way too sweet for me
I used Girardelli SWEET baking cocoa and less than a pound of sugar powder… Next time I make sure I have unsweetened cocoa and no more than 1/2 pound of sugar powder.

Ifg this cake is as good as my scratch brownies,I will have the two best chocolate desserts nailed down. Is the flour all purpose or self rising. Love the sight.

87

Anonymous On Friday, October 5 at 4:41 pm

Oh. My. Freaking. Gosh.
That’s really all I’ve got to say! This cake is so wicked amazing! After eating that I’ll skip meals for an entire week but it was totally worth it! Like, I never liked any cake except for New York Cheesecake until I tried this chocolate cake. It’s evil. Thanks for making me a size larger!

88

Stephanie On Saturday, October 6 at 4:13 pm

I grew up eating this cake and it’s absolutely fabulous. I often requested this for my birthday cake. We just called it Fudge Cake. It was years later that I learned it was called Texas Sheet Cake. Mom would make this for the annual volunteer firemen’s picnic and it would always go first. They finally auctioned one off one year! LOL You can also add a bit of cinammon to the mix and it tastes even better! Always moist and ALWAYS a hit!

89

Stephanie On Tuesday, October 9 at 4:37 pm

Ree, you are so rad! Your writing is truly entertaining and I can’t wait to try some of your recipes.

Steph
Down here in Texas

90

Ann On Thursday, October 11 at 12:02 pm

could you adjust this for around 6000 ft? I rarely bake, but this sounds great.

91

Frank On Sunday, October 14 at 4:48 pm

I didn’t like it. I thought it
was too sweet.

92

Christine On Monday, October 15 at 6:23 pm

hi there-

thanks for the recipe, it was delicious! I have made it twice now and everyone loves it. It makes 3 8×8 pans so was great to make and keep one and give two. I only had dutch processed cocoa and it worked just great, fyi. Second time for the frosting I used half powdered sugar and half brown sugar with a spoonful of instant coffee for flavor and that was pretty great too. Thanks again for the great recipe and great site!

93

Donna On Tuesday, October 16 at 9:48 am

This is my favorite cake in the whole world…and I do love cake…lots of cake…but this is my favorite. I add cinnamon. But with or without cinnamon, with or without pecans…it’s the BEST cake. Thanks for sharing!

94

Carolina Caren On Thursday, October 18 at 8:06 pm

Just made this cake today for a get-together. Folks were raving! Thank goodness I doubled the recipe, so now I have a whole nother one here for me and my boys! One thing about doubling the recipe… at one point, I saw 4! sticks of butter melting in a saucepan. Sheer happiness, right there. Bliss.

Oh, and that’s surprise over the 4, not 4 factorial, if you’re as nerdy as I am and concerned about that kinda thing.

I heared about your recipe from my sister-inlaw in Italy she love so much and spend so much time e-mailing everyone to see your site.I like the way you explain step by step for woman like me still learning how to bake easy to follow.surely will visit your site more often.Thanks

Yum. YUMMMMMM. YUMMER-YUM-YUM. My sister made this yesterday for me and oh my Lord, so rich, so chocolatey, so wonderful. I wonder how much of this I could eat before actually falling over dead.

97

Sheila On Tuesday, October 23 at 2:51 pm

I’ve had that recipe for years – given to me from my aunt. I agree – it is delicious – and easy! The only difference is that I never put the nuts in the frosting. Thanks for such an inspiring website. I visit often.

98

Heather Kay On Tuesday, October 23 at 9:21 pm

It has finally cooled off here in NW Arkansas and that put me in a major baking mood. This cake is totally awesome!! My family had to have seconds. Thanks for such easy to follow instructions.

99

Brea On Wednesday, October 24 at 4:14 am

Oh my gosh – that cake was incredible!! It lasted 3 days in our house, but *only* because I’ve been sick those 3 days. My parents both said it was one of the best cakes they’ve ever had (and my mom is from Texas and has had many variations of this cake), and my husband loved it. And it’s VERY rare that he likes cake.

Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!

100

Dawn On Thursday, October 25 at 9:02 pm

Sweet Mother of God, this is amazing! I love you! Thank You for posting all of these fabulous recipes, I can’t wait to make more.

Saturday, April 4: Freezer Fundamentals! While ranch work is going on outside, freezer work is going on inside! I share four more of my favorite freezer basics, which can be made into a whole bunch of different meals.